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History of Literary Theory

ENGL 571.401
instructor(s):
T 3-6

This course will consist in an exploration of crucial issues in literary criticism and theory, a field that has undergone massive changes. We will go back to a number of foundational texts in a genealogical manner (Plato, Aristotle, Longinus, Kant, Nietzsche, Foucault, Lacan, Derrida, Benjamin) and also work from a few key concepts, such as "mimesis", "canonicity", "ideology," "authority," "performativity" or "subjectivity" in order to problematize the ways in which we read literature. Most of the texts will be taken from the Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism (2001). Course requirements: one oral report based on bibliographical research and one paper (15 pages). No final exam

fulfills requirements